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Wednesday, May 29, 2013

How We Homestead: Real Food

Welcome to the third installment of our new five-week series, How We Homestead. Each Wednesday I write a post about a different homesteading topic to shed more light on where we are on our path to self-sufficiency and what homesteading looks like for us.

If you read the first installment in this series, you may remember that the documentary Food, Inc. was the catalyst for us in getting started on our homesteading journey. Since seeing the film, we have been focused on providing real, whole foods for our family. For us, that means growing as much of our own food as possible. I am somewhat of a control freak, so it is right up my alley to have a hand in each step of the gardening process, from seed to harvest.

Row of cucumbers.

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This is only our second year gardening out here, so we still are in the planning and organizing phase. Last year was sort of a test run, and we made lots of changes to the garden area this year. The biggest change was defining a large spot for the garden and building raised beds. We are still working on it, but we finally see an end in sight! We just have to add a little more mulch in between the beds (this way we don't have to worry about weeds) and finish the fence to keep all the critters away from our veggies.

Radishes popping up like crazy!

Our first strawberry!

In addition to our large vegetable garden, we also took up beekeeping this year and are eager to harvest our first batch of honey. In the meantime, I buy local raw honey from the head of the beekeeping club in our area. I love to use honey in place of white sugar whenever I can (especially in my homemade granola and ice cream) so we tend to go through quite a bit!

My first time holding a frame full of our bees. I finally did it!

One of our girls foraging on sedum blooms.

Earlier this year, we decided to try tapping our maple trees to make our own syrup. While we found that we didn't feel the process was worth it for the time and effort required, we are so glad that we tried and learned more about how syrup is made.

If you've been reading this blog for a while now, you know that we also have a flock of chickens and guineas to provide us with delicious farm fresh eggs. At first I was only concerned with keeping chickens for their eggs, but along the way I have learned how much fun they are and what great companion animals they can be. I just love my chickens and the gorgeous eggs they provide for my family!

Our ultimate goal is to be able to grow and preserve all the food that we eat here on our homestead. I realize that is a very lofty goal, and we are nowhere near it yet, but it is what we are working towards every day.

Four other awesome bloggers are participating in this series as well, so don't forget to check out their posts to read more about where they are in their homesteading journey. You can find them here -

Thanks so much for reading and please do let me know if you have any questions or comments. I'd love to hear from you! Don't forget to check back next Wednesday for the fourth installment in the series where I will be focusing on what a typical day looks like for us out here on the homestead.

"Our ultimate goal is to be able to grow and preserve all the food that we eat here on our homestead." Yes! This is my goal as well! Of course I think we will need to move to a little larger piece of land in order to accomplish that! But, for now, providing the majority of the veggies we eat in the summer as well as all the eggs we could possibly want - ever - I feel like we are doing a great job! I love this series! So glad to see others homesteading journeys!

Wow - your garden is huge! Good for you two. :) The maple syrup process is amazing, isn't it? So happy about the bees! I'm hoping to get my husband to a class at a local farm so he'll lose some of his fear about bringing them to our little farm. It's currently the only thing holding us back but I want him to be on board so maybe a little experience with it will help.

Love this series! First, congrats on the hive - that looks like serious business. Our friends just started beekeeping - looks like an amazing journey they are beginning! As for us, we just started our garden, I have high hopes for the little thing...baby steps and you can bet I'll be borrowing some of your tips during this series! Amazing!

Your raised beds look great! I think you are doing a fantastic job with meeting your homesteading goals - it's a long process to get there. We've been working on them for about 2-3 years now and no where near where I had hoped but each year get a little closer!

Tammy, The more I read in the news about all of the awful ways the food we eat is processed and grown, etc, the more I'm inclined to want to have more control over my food as well! Your garden looks terrific-raised beds are definitely the way to go!

Oh look at the size of your vege garden! And it's flat - I'm a bit jealous!! One of my aims is to try and grow as much of our food as possible, I just wish the other half was more enthusiastic as I need his muscles! S:)

Tammy, You are doing a wonderful job. Your garden look great and I am just amazed at the shot of you holding the bees. I love that it show how much you care and love what you are doing. It is so satisfying. Great post, have a happy evening and week ahead.

I just love all this! Your pictures are amazing! I love peeking into your garden and it will get better and better every year. I think you need to give sugaring another go...it really is pretty neat to have some of your own.

I remain jealous of your bees! We go through a ton of honey too...mostly through bread making. I use it with this recipe:

The documentary, Food, Inc., was a big motivating factor for me as well. We grow produce and our own grass fed beef now. We also buy locally. Another factor for me was reading, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, by Barbara Kingsolver. Love seeing those bees!!!

Congrats on handling the bees! You look like a natural with them :) I am curious about your garden. Why do you choose to use the raised beds? I struggle with certain parts of my gardening, so always looking to learn better or different ways of doing things!

Your garden is huge. My question, though would be why raised beds when it looks like you have an area cleared that would be large enough for a traditional garden? We plant a lot of stuff in our garden and I can and preserve as much of it as I can so we can eat it late into the winter. I only have jar of tomato sauce left and we are late planting tomatoes.

I think keeping bees is one of my favourite things on our little farm. We have only had our hives for three years and we now have enough honey for us and some to sell/swap too. The hardest thing to become self sufficient in for us at least, is grains. They are a lot of work and take up quite a lot of space so we are doing the next best thing and buying from an organic mill which isn't too far away. Oh and your garden looks like it will not only be very productive but a peaceful place too.

Your garden looks great! We also have the same goal to grow as much as out own food as possible. It can get overwhelming at times, especially when you are up against the strange weather patterns we have been having lately, but it is well worth it. It's a win-win, you get to work outside, get plenty of exercise and you end up with healthy nutritious food!

Just in awe....our goals are less lofty but I so admire you. But a note: depending on where you live (ie, somewhere cold), if this is your first season with the bees, and by Fall you haven't had them a full year, you may want to seriously consider waiting another year to harvest the honey. The honey is what the bees eat all Winter, and often beekeepers will leave it for the first Winter to ensure an adequate supply. After a year, the bees will have had ample opportunity to gettheir groove on and store enough for the future. Just a thought based on our own beekeeping experiences.

your gardens look amazing.. I love how you live and just in awe of you guys and your soul shines thru in all you do . I love the passion you all put into all tasks and dreams and YOUR living a good full life. I just love it .. WISH I was there to hug your sweet self and I feel just so blessed that GOD crossed our paths.. .. Have a blessed weekend my sweet friend .. WHO is like Fam now .. HUGS and hug little pearl for me

I'm so enjoying following your journey, Tammy! It sounds like things are really coming together for you this year! Your garden is amazing and of course your dear, sweet chickens. You are brave for raising bees, but it is people like you who keep us honey lovers in supply! I love your enthusiasm - it is contagious. xoxo

We have a lot of people around here who do maple syrup. It's a ton of work! I helped my friend one year. As you know, it takes 40 gallons of sap to make a gallon of syrup. There are people around here who regularly tap just a few trees on their property. We only have one sugar maple but it's a beauty and I really should give it at try some day.